Stellar Transformation-Chapter 500: Episode 15 - 9 The Old People of Fu Jue Village
(This Chapter should be Chapter 9! I wrote it wrong, sorry.)
"Yes, it’s Fu Jue Village," the woman issuing the token said affirmatively.
The woman in purple nodded and handed three tokens to Qin Yu and his brothers, "These three identity tokens must undergo blood recognition. Make sure not to lose them. As for your going to Fu Jue Village..."
The woman in purple frowned and glanced at the three men again, "Did you not give some Divine Spirit Stones to the person in charge of village allocation?"
Qin Yu’s mind stirred.
He still remembered when he first met Song Hui and Shi Tian, the couple had suggested that Qin Yu bribe the individual responsible for allocating villages. Evidently, the brothers hadn’t cared at the time. It now seemed that ’Fu Jue Village’ must be an extremely poor village.
"Right, how is it? Is this village located far from Wei Chi City, where the Divine Spirit is so violent that it cannot be absorbed, right?" Qin Yu asked with a smile.
"You know." The woman in purple looked at Qin Yu in surprise, "You knew and still deliberately chose this?"
Seeing how the young man before her remained composed and smiling in such circumstances, the woman in purple was even more surprised. She then resumed her indifferent demeanor, "Fu Jue Village, it’s not just remote and lacking in absorbable Divine Spirit. There’s something even worse."
Qin Yu and his brothers couldn’t help but raise their eyebrows.
Seeing their reaction, the woman in purple felt a bit more at ease and didn’t give Qin Yu and his brothers a chance to ask further, "Gao Xiaqi, come in quickly. There are three new ascenders who need to be assigned to Fu Jue Village; I’m leaving this task to you."
A golden-haired young man wearing Battle Armor walked in, frowning at the woman in purple, "Did you say Fu Jue Village?"
"Yes, why, are you unwilling?" the woman in purple asked this Gao Xiaqi.
Gao Xiaqi snorted, "I’m not scared of that."
"As long as you don’t change the pattern of the army’s standard Battle Armor," said a woman in white organizing the Jade Scrolls in the room with a chuckle. Gao Xiaqi ignored her and turned to Qin Yu and his brothers, "You three, follow me."
******
Having just left the mine with Gao Xiaqi, Qin Yu and his brothers were surprised to see the standard Battle Armor on Gao Xiaqi’s body transform, eventually changing into a long robe draped over him.
Qin Yu and his brothers remembered what the white-dressed woman had said before they left, ’As long as you don’t change the pattern of the army’s standard Battle Armor’.
"Brother Gao, why did you change the standard Battle Armor?" Qin Yu asked aloud.
Gao Xiaqi glanced at Qin Yu, then asked in return, "You three, are you newcomers who have just ascended a thousand years ago?"
"Yes, what of it?" Qin Yu asked, puzzled.
Hou Fei and Hei Yu also stared at Gao Xiaqi. Gao Xiaqi seemed incredulous as he looked at Qin Yu for a long while, "Nothing, it’s just, it’s been only a thousand years, and these two have reached Intermediate Divine Being Realm while you... I can’t even see through you, probably reaching Upper Level Divine Being Realm by now. How is that possible? It’s only been a thousand years. Could it be... you ascended from the Heavenly Heart Realm?"
"Ascended from the Heavenly Heart Realm?" Qin Yu and his brothers were puzzled.
Gao Xiaqi mused to himself, "There are still some differences among the same level cosmic spaces in the Lower Realm. Weak ones like the Green Demon Realm might take hundreds of millions of years for one to ascend. While in strong ones like the Heavenly Heart Realm, one might ascend every few hundred years."
The Qin Yu siblings exchanged glances.
In cosmic space, the Mortal World is one level, while realms such as the Immortal, Demon, and Dinosaur Realms are on another level, with the Divine World on yet another. However, even among realms on the same level like the Immortal, Demon, and Dinosaur Realms, there are differences in strength.
Every few hundred years, an ascender comes up, which is quite a frequent rate.
Under normal circumstances in realms like the Immortal, Demon, and Dark Star Realms, about one million years pass before an ascension occurs.
"In the Heavenly Heart Realm, some extremely powerful beings ascend to the Divine World and reach the Intermediate Divine Being level within a thousand years... Seeing how formidable you three are, I assumed you were from the Heavenly Heart Realm," Gao Xiaqi said with a smile.
Qin Yu replied with a faint smile, "There are many cosmic spaces in the Lower Realm, and some who cultivate rapidly are not necessarily from the Heavenly Heart Realm."
"Hey, Brother Gao, why did you change the appearance of your Battle Armor?" Hou Fei asked out loud. Qin Yu and Hei Yu also looked at Gao Xiaqi, puzzled by this too.
Gao Xiaqi, seeing the three, explained helplessly, "Don’t you three know how crucial it is initially to assign ascenders to a village? You should offer a little hardship fee, so you aren’t assigned to some remote villages like Fu Jue Village."
"What’s wrong with Fu Jue Village? And what does that have to do with changing your Battle Armor?" Hou Fei continued to inquire.
Gao Xiaqi swallowed hard and said, "You should be cautious. Villages like Fu Jue Village, situated in the most remote areas, not only have to pay taxes to the City Lord’s Mansion every thousand years but also to some powerful faction leaders!"
"Powerful faction leaders?" The Qin Yu siblings looked at each other.
"It’s the Mountain King!" Gao Xiaqi clarified, "Think about it, Wei Chi City can only accommodate twenty million people, and there are two hundred million outside. Life is tougher for those outside, and every ascender from their original cosmic space was a notable figure. So quite a few end up claiming territory in desolate areas and set themselves up as kings!"
Hei Yu frowned, but Hou Fei blurted out, "Damn, they’re turning into robbers?"
Qin Yu nodded in understanding.
It’s normal for ascended masters, always being at the bottom, to rebel.
"Doesn’t the City Lord’s Mansion care?" Qin Yu asked.
Gao Xiaqi scoffed, "The City Lord’s Mansion? They only make a show of governance now and then. As long as these forces don’t affect their rule, the City Lord’s Mansion won’t interfere. Besides, the cities in the Divine World are fixed, and with a population so large resorting to fighting each other, the City Lord’s Mansion is too lazy to intervene."
"Becoming a Mountain King isn’t easy, right? There are Divine Beings in the villages too, won’t the villagers resist if these kings press them too hard?" Qin Yu remarked.
Gao Xiaqi sighed and replied, "You are mistaken. While there are many who claim to be kings, the forces that dare to demand regular taxes from the villages are major powers. Minor factions wouldn’t dare to do such a thing."
"Major powers, how big are they?" Qin Yu furrowed his brow.
Gao Xiaqi sighed, "Outside of Wei Chi City, there are three major forces. If the City Lord’s Mansion were determined, they could indeed eliminate these three. But they don’t have the resolve to do so, because to eradicate these three powers, at least dozens of Heavenly Gods would need to die. Can you imagine the City Lord’s Mansion, with just over a hundred Heavenly Gods, willing to pay such a hefty price?"
The Qin Yu siblings were all astonished.
To annihilate these three powers would indeed cost the lives of dozens of Heavenly Gods?
"As far as I know, Fu Jue Village falls under the jurisdiction of one of these three major forces—the ’Black Dragon Pond’ force. And within the bounds of Wei Chi City’s governance, the leader of Black Dragon Pond is also one of the top five supreme experts!" Gao Xiaqi exclaimed.
Qin Yu and his companions immediately lost the thought of resistance.
Why would one of the top five experts within the jurisdiction of Wei Chi City become a local leader?
"You also understand why I had to change the appearance of the standard Battle Armor, don’t you? Although the ’Black Dragon Pond’ wouldn’t truly oppose the City Lord’s Mansion, we lesser folks are the ones they love to bully the most. As for you ordinary people, they mostly just rob, not harm your lives," Gao Xiaqi said helplessly.
...
Guided by Gao Xiaqi, it took Qin Yu and his two companions three days and nights to reach the remote Fu Jue Village from the Divine Spirit Stone Mine. Along the way, Qin Yu also learned about the affairs within the territories under Wei Chi City’s jurisdiction.
The closer one was to Wei Chi City, the safer it was, while the areas far from Wei Chi City were under the control of various powerful bandit forces. The status of these bandits, who declared themselves kings of their territories, varied.
For example, the ’Black Dragon Pond’, one of the three major forces, dared to collect taxes from the various villages in remote areas. Naturally, they lived the most lavish.ly, while some smaller forces survived by robbing and killing.
Fu Jue Village, being a remote settlement, unfortunately had to pay taxes both to the City Lord’s Mansion and to Black Dragon Pond.
The village of Fu Jue covered an extensive area; at a cursory glance, there were at least several thousand houses. Qin Yu and his brothers nodded secretly; at least the village of Fu Jue was not too desolate.
"The population of Fu Jue Village exceeds ten thousand, qualifying it as a small village. Large villages have populations of several hundreds of thousands," Gao Xiaqi remarked.
Qin Yu instantly understood, outside Wei Chi City, there were two hundred million people; it was normal for a village with a population over ten thousand to be considered small.
"This is the Village Chief’s house; the Village Chief will explain many things to you," Gao Xiaqi said, familiarly leading them to a courtyard. The courtyard doors were open, and inside, three middle-aged men were chatting and laughing.
Gao Xiaqi entered and said to the tallest of the middle-aged men, "Village Chief Fan Xu, you must have received the notice by now. These are the three new Ascenders assigned here. From today onwards, they are members of Fu Jue Village."
Fan Xu, standing at least two meters tall and slim, looked rather gentle and scholarly.
Holding a feather fan, Fan Xu walked toward Qin Yu and his companions with a smile, "I am Fan Xu, the Village Chief of Fu Jue Village. You must be Qin Yu, Hou Fei, and Hei Yu. Here are some matters you need to be aware of in the village; I have prepared them for you." Saying this, Fan Xu handed over a Jade Scroll.
Qin Yu took the Jade Scroll, "Village Chief Fan Xu, I am Qin Yu, this is my second brother Hou Fei, this is my third brother Hei Yu."
After scanning the Jade Scroll with his Divine Sense, Qin Yu bowed and said, "Village Chief, we three brothers will take our leave now. Thank you as well, Brother Gao Xiaqi, for bringing us here; farewell." The three brothers promptly departed.
"Eh, seeing what’s written in my Jade Scroll about paying taxes twice, he wasn’t surprised at all and just left so abruptly. That is strange," Fan Xu, fanning himself, said puzzledly and then turned to Gao Xiaqi.
"Yes, I’ve already told them on the way," Gao Xiaqi said with a smile, "Village Chief Fan Xu, I’ll take my leave as well."
Fan Xu nodded and turned to walk back to his two friends, muttering, "Three brothers? Three brothers ascending at the same time, that’s quite rare."
After looking through the Jade Scroll, Qin Yu learned about some key issues.
Taxes were paid once every thousand years: a thousand Low Grade Divine Spiritual Stones to the City Lord and fifteen hundred Low Grade Divine Spiritual Stones to Black Dragon Pond.
Ordinary people had three main ways to earn Low Grade Divine Spiritual Stones. First, like Ascenders, by mining in Divine Spirit Stone Mines, where, after paying the taxes, they usually had a substantial amount left over. Second, by scavenging in abandoned mines where, with some luck, Divine Spiritual Stones could be found. The third method was through employment—
working for the City Lord’s Mansion or for other powerful and influential people. There were many types of jobs, all paid in Divine Spiritual Stones.
Of course, besides these three, there were other matters, such as venturing into desolate areas to find some rare materials or precious herbs and ores to bring back and sell in the city.
However, this kind of work is quite dangerous, and finding precious herbs and materials also requires keen vision, which is not something ordinary people can handle.
*******
Qin Yu and his two companions settled quietly in Fu Jue Village, easily building a manor house. They spent most of their time in the Jiang Lan Realm, occasionally coming out, and they got to know many people in the village.
Soon, three hundred years had passed.
The lives of the three brothers, Qin Yu, were very peaceful, but then the day to pay taxes arrived. This time, the tax was to be paid to the "Black Dragon Pond," which had a different tax payment day from the one at the City Lord’s Mansion.
All the people of Fu Jue Village gathered at the village chief’s doorstep, as no one dared not pay the tax to "Black Dragon Pond." If they did not pay the City Lord’s Mansion, they would only be punished. But the people of Black Dragon Pond would kill those who did not pay the tax.
"Brother Li Liao, how is it going?" two men walking shoulder to shoulder started talking.
"Xing Yuan, I’m really out of options. Zi Yun’s parents are too stubborn. Although Zi Yun has feelings for you, her parents insist that you must buy a house within Wei Chi City before they will let their daughter marry you," Li Liao said helplessly.
Xing Yuan sighed deeply.
This Xing Yuan was the former Monarch of the Dark Star Realm. Once in the Divine World, he became an ordinary person. He did not bribe anyone responsible for distributing villages and ended up here.
While in the mines, Qin Yu and his companions rarely came out and never encountered Xing Yuan.
"Two million Low Grade Divine Spiritual Stones, even if they kill me, I don’t have them," Xing Yuan clenched his fists, feeling very frustrated.
In the Dark Star Realm, he had never been moved by affection, and initially, he did not think about this aspect in the Divine World either; he just wanted to cultivate rigorously. However, after meeting Zi Yun, the two became completely infatuated and lost their senses.
Zi Yun grew up in the Divine World. Her parents’ mindset was deeply rooted, wanting their daughter to have a good future and not need to live in fear in Fu Jue Village. They firmly demanded that Xing Yuan buy a house in Wei Chi City before coming to talk.
"Xing Yuan, don’t be too obsessed. We men, well, just focus on cultivating. Once you become a Heavenly God, won’t the women who want to marry you be lined up at the door?" Li Liao comforted, but he knew well the difficulty of becoming a Heavenly God.
Xing Yuan sighed, "Brother Li Liao, you don’t understand my feelings."
Once you fall in love, it’s hard to pull yourself out.
Suddenly, a familiar voice was heard.
"Eh, Brother Xing Yuan?"
Xing Yuan looked up to see three young men walking over. He recognized the leading man’s smile and demeanor immediately and exclaimed in surprise, "Liu Xing, is that you? You’ve come to the Divine World too?"
(Whew, I have finally updated three Chapters today, and it will be the same tomorrow. Hehe, if you have monthly tickets, throw them at Fang Qie!)
(To be continued. For further updates, please visit WWW.CMFU.COM. More Chapters available, support the author, and support genuine reading!)
